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Elfhelm
|Yōsei Kyō (Erufuherumu)|lit=Fairy Hometown}} is the home of the elves, a paradisaical kingdom located on the island of Skellig in the Western Sea. Like Flora's spirit tree mansion, it lay in an interstice before the Great Roar of the Astral World. Many sorcerers and witches reside in a hamlet within the domain's border, living alongside the elves and their ruler, the Flower Storm Monarch, with a variety of other mystical creatures. Geography Elfhelm is an unmapped, peaceful paradise where food is plentiful, housing cherries that spontaneously regrow upon being plucked, and a populace that plays every day. In the center of Elfhelm lies a gargantuan cherry blossom tree which acts as a palace for the domain's ruler: the Flower Storm Monarch. One feature unique to the island is that its flow of time is different to the surrounding lands; a single day on the island could be many years outside of it. Also atypical are the trees of the Flower Storm Monarch's demesne; they are extremely large, but do not prevent light from permeating below, as if they themselves emanate light. Though the land itself is not inherently harmful, many enchantments have been placed around it to keep outsiders away following the Great Roar of the Astral World and the realm's subsequent sublimation into the Physical World. One such enchantment results in the outsider thinking themselves to be walking in a straight line, but eventually finding themselves back where they started. Only natives are unaffected by the barrier and can navigate through it. In addition, a magic pumpkin patch laden with scarecrows surrounds Elfhelm. The scarecrows attack any intruders if the produce is touched, and even the pumpkins themselves can be enchanted with the power of gnomes – spirits of the earth – by witches as a method of driving away trespassers. Residents Overseen by its sovereign, the Flower Storm Monarch, Elfhelm is home to a variety of astral creatures: unicorns, fawns, centaurs, dwarves, brownies, harpies, and bipedal deer and fox creatures, as well as the elves themselves, all coexist within the predominantly elfin realm. Various elementals also reside there. However, there are few heavy elementals – barytes – in Elfhelm; they darken the air and weigh down anything nearby, depressing the spirit and feeding obsession, and thus don't do well with the domain's inhabitants. Living within a witch colony, Governors Gedfring, Skirbil, Thraein, and Ginnar consider the kingdom their home. The Flower Storm Monarch tends to the elders and prepares their meals to keep on good terms with the colony. Additionally, Puck's twin brothers – Pick, Peck, Pack and Pock – all hail from and live in the kingdom. While it is uncommon for denizens to leave Elfhelm, a few have departed to live or travel elsewhere, including Puck, before his return accompanied by Guts and the rest of his traveling party. When asked why he would leave such a beautiful place, Puck responds that he simply got bored. In actuality, his departure was accidental; the elf fell asleep on top of an albatross and then awakened on a boat headed for the mainland, separated from his home. Flora, too, left the island society, and instead chose to take up residence in a spirit tree, watching over it before her death. However, most of Elfhelm's inhabitants have never left Skellig, showing curiosity about the "outside world" and marveling at the arrival of new visitors. Story Fantasia Arc After slaying the Sea God, Guts and his party are guided to Skellig by a gossip of merrows. They disembark from the Seahorse and are advised against staying in Elfhelm for an extended period, since time flows more quickly outside the elfin domain than inside it. The group then promptly departs. Upon encountering the magical barrier set up to confuse interlopers, the group attempts to pass through; after a while of them being lost and meandering aimlessly, Puck eventually guides his companions through to the site of a pumpkin patch on the outskirts of Elfhelm. At first only an irritant, living scarecrows and pumpkins are set upon the party by a hidden envoy of witches, which are quickly deactivated once Schierke manipulates the art cast on them, thereby neutralizing the enemy. Notes * Skellig's much slower flow of time matches a climactic aspect of the elfin forest featured in the story of Peekaf the Outcast, which Rosine bases her fantasies and self made "paradise" on. This suggests that the legend has at least some basis in fact. References Category:Locations